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Increased flexibility in the India merger control regime

IndiaUnited Kingdom
07/07/2017
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The Indian Ministry of Corporate Affairs has recently announced that they are removing the requirement to file a merger notification within 30 days of the relevant “trigger event” (such as signing of a sale and purchase agreement). The notification issued on 29 June is in force for a five year period.

Mergers meeting the threshold for filing will still need to file with the Competition Commission of India and obtain a clearance to close or wait until 210 days have elapsed from when the application was filed.

The change is intended to give the parties increased flexibility on when they file. This will be particularly helpful for multi-jurisdictional mergers, as it means that the parties can file with the Indian authorities simultaneously with other jurisdictions (rather than within 30 days of signing under the previous regime).

Overall this should make the process more efficient and less onerous, particularly in the context of multi-jurisdictional deals.

These recent developments have not changed the consequences for failing to file a notifiable transaction in India, which carries the risk of fines: which can be substantial as the parties can be fined up to 1% of total turnover or assets (whichever is higher) of the new combined entity.

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